| Albus Dumbledore |
Gandalf |
SHORT BIO
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| When Albus Dumbledore was young, a discussion between him, his brother Aberforth and his friend Grindelwald led to a duel that resulted in the death of Dumbledore’s sister Adriana. Albus felt guilty and felt that he was not to be trusted with power. Due to this he never accepted the position of The Minister of Magic which he was offered many times. Instead he became a teacher and ultimately the headmaster at the wizarding school Hogwarts. Dumbledore’s exceptional abilities as a wizard can be gauged from the fact that even Lord Voldemort feared him and never dared to enter Hogwarts while he was alive. It was only after Dumbledore’s demise that Voldermort was able to take control of the wizarding world. |
Gandalf, known as Olorin in Valinor, was one of the five Istari who were sent by Valar to help the people of Middle-earth to fight against evil. Istari possessed great mental and physical powers and were called Wizards by men. After Saruman’s betrayal and fall, Gandalf became the head of the Istari. Gandalf’s wise advice, leadership skills and superhuman abilities were instrumental in helping Middle-earth overcome the threat of the Dark Lord of Mordor, Sauron. |
POWERS & ABILITIES
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| Dumbledore has extensive knowledge of magic. He is an expert in non-verbal spells and is famous as an alchemist. He can conjure Gubraithian fire (magical everlasting fire), become invisible without an invisibility cloak, teleport and create objects out of thin air. He is proficient in Charms, Potions and Transfiguration. He is also skilled in Occlumency (blocking telepathy) and Legilimency (telepathy). Dumbledore can understand Mermish, Gobbledegook (Goblin language) and Parseltongue (language of snakes). Dumbledore also knows dark magic but chooses not to use it. |
Gandalf is a skilled swordsman and has the ability to create light to blind enemies or to see in dark places. He can communicate with animals, create and manipulate fire, make protective shields, use telepathy and call down lightning bolts to strike enemies. He possesses superhuman stamina, supernatural senses and immunity from harm by any mortal weapon. To add to all these abilities Gandalf has thousands of years of knowledge and experience. Gandalf cannot die due to old age, diseases etc. but can be killed by unnatural causes. After he was killed in his epic battle with Balrog, he returned from death as Gandalf the White. |
WEAKNESSES
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| Dumbledore is affected by old age and illnesses. He is wary of power. |
Gandalf has many more powers but in his first two forms, most of his powers are sealed by Valar. Though it is difficult he can still be killed in his first two forms. |
HEAD TO HEAD
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| Dumbledore, although said to be 150 years old, is mortal. |
Gandalf has lived for thousands of years due to which he has vast experience. He also returns from death as Gandalf the White. |
| Dumbledore defeats Grindelwald, second on the list of most dangerous dark wizards of all time, even though Grindelwald has the Elder Wand. He also calmly engages Voldemort and in the end Voldemort has to flee. |
Gandalf slews the Balrog who is among the most feared Morgoth’s forces but he perishes himself at the same time. During his one on one duel with Saruman the White, Gandalf is defeated and taken prisoner. |
| Dumbledore is unable to subdue his longing for apologizing to his family, especially his sister. This leads him to wear the cursed ring which has the Resurrection Stone and this ultimately leads to his demise. |
Gandalf understands his limits and the power of the ring. He refuses to take it as he knows that though he would want to use the ring to do well, the ring’s power would take him towards darkness. |
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